What the election result means for events

Following the win for the Conservative Party in the general election, what do key industry figures think about the result?

After last night's general election victory for the Conservative party, several industry figures have spoken about the affect they believe it will have on the events industry.

"The events industry has worked successfully with the Conservative government to raise the profile of the sector and have its contribution to the economy properly recognised," said Michael Hirst OBE, chairman at BVEP. "I am confident that this good working relationship will continue to grow.

"The BVEP, providing a unified industry voice, will step up its efforts to promote the benefits of a strong events economy to the economic and social wellbeing of the UK."

This is a view echoed by Chris Skeith, chief executive officer at the Association of Event Organisers, who said: "We have made great headway working with the last Conservative government, gaining increased recognition of the events sector, and the contribution our members make to the economy.

"Our latest Economic Impact Study shows the industry creates £11 billion in total outputs, and £5.4 billion in total GDP, supporting 114,000 jobs. In addition, the activities of UK organisers overseas returns over £2.1 billion of turnover into the UK annually, which puts them in the top 10 of service exporters.

"We are confident this good working relationship will continue to grow and our engagement with government departments and the GREAT campaign will increase."

DRPG's CEO, Dale Parmenter, added: "At last we get some certainty and hopefully some stability and leadership. Now we just have to see it unfold. It's business as usual until then."

WRG’s head of live, Tim Collett, said: "I personally believe that as an industry we are better off inside the European Union, however I do believe that the uncertainty around exiting the European Union has been creating additional issues.

"While the political declaration and withdrawal agreement do leave many questions unanswered, a government with a clear mandate is now in a significantly stronger position to ensure the best deals possible for us as a nation.

"At The Creative Engagement Group we have been planning for the UK’s departure from the European Union for over two years, so feel confident that we have made appropriate plans to mitigate any issues this may bring."

Rob Stross, chief marketing officer at the P2P travel money provider WeSwap.com, said: "With this election result, the pound gained in value dramatically, meaning holidaymakers will get more foreign currency for their pound than yesterday.

Within the hospitality sector, the chief operating officer at The Food & Drink Federation, Tim Rycroft, welcomed the result: "For too long, business has been mired in a sea of political uncertainty, hitting investment, productivity and long-term growth. As the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, food and drink is part of the UK’s critical national infrastructure and essential to national security.

"As set out in our manifesto, we want to work in partnership with the government to reach our full potential as the most dynamic, sustainable, resilient and competitive industry, by boosting exports, developing talent and encouraging innovation."